Analysis of notch strengthening of 316L stainless steel with and without irradiation-induced hardening using EBSD and FEM

Notch strengthening analysis of 316L stainless steel was carried out using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and the finite element modeling (FEM) techniques. The influence of exposure to irradiation was examined by employing irradiated tensile properties in the FEM analyses. The major issue of interest is the possibility that low ductility, often found following irradiation exposure, will translate into low notch toughness. It was found that notch depth plays an important role in notch strengthening and mechanical properties degradation. Differences in notch depth and shape result in various sizes of deformation and twinning zones. Experimental results and FEM modeling results correlate well over the range of notch conditions examined here. It is found that notch ductility and plastic deformation can be highly localized for irradiated materials, exacerbating the flow localization problem. Thus irradiation exposure can also lead to flow localization problems with components with notches or stress concentrators, but notch constraints can limit the extent of localized flow.